Increase your split air-conditioning system’s efficiency

Posted by Michael Griffin on October 17th, 2019

Port St. Lucie is a West-Atlantic sea-side town and a popular tourist destination for many people. The town experiences hot weather, typical of any tropical region, all year long. This makes people depend a lot on air-conditioning to keep themselves cool while at home or at work. Therefore, all residential properties need air-conditioning in Port St. Lucie. But air-conditioning uses a lot of electricity to run all day long and is one of the major contributors to a high electricity bill. So, here are a few things you can do to make the electricity consumption of your split air-conditioning unit in check. You can always can a professional to do this for you as a part of regular service. But if you’ve observed these steps being done before, it would be very easy for you to do it yourself and save that money.

Cleaning the external unit

First and foremost, unplug the air-conditioning unit from its power source. Then carefully remove the fan from the external unit using a screwdriver or wrench or keep it attached if you think the fan does not need cleaning. Start by removing the fasteners and opening the cage away from the top of the unit. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hand. Now use a vacuum cleaner, air blower or just by spraying water, clean the unit. Use a gentle stream from a garden hose and avoid using a pressure washer as it may damage the fins of the condenser unit. You may use condenser cleaning sprays to get rid of any stubborn dirt stuck on the fins of the condenser. Reduction in air-flow through the fins can reduce the cooling efficiency. Also, if you find any bent fins carefully and gently straighten them using a butter knife or if you can get your hands on a commercial fin-straightening tool. Remove any vegetation from two feet around the condenser. This will allow more air to pass through it. Never completely cover the external unit as it encourages bees to build a nest inside. Before you proceed to clean the internal unit, make sure that you install the fan back in the unit if you had removed it in the first step.

Cleaning the internal unit

While cleaning the internal unit, the first thing you need to remove is the HEPA filters installed in the internal unit. These are pads that have a transparent mesh and can easily be removed by hand. The function of these filters is to stop dust particles from entering the evaporator coil. Thus, giving you clean air. These filters can be cleaned easily by water. Now, find the evaporator coil and use a soft brush to remove the dust stuck between the evaporator coil. You can also clean the coil using a coil cleaner available at almost all home improvement stores and supermarkets. It is important to clean the evaporator coil as it cools the air conditioner sucks-in. Next, if you have access to the drain line of the air conditioner, flush it with water to drain out any accumulating dirt. You can even use an air blower to blow the dirt out of it. It is important to clean this drain pipe as bacterial action can potentially start growing inside it. This usually completes the cleaning activity. Now, carefully put the HEPA filters back in place and close the internal unit. You can now switch on the air conditioning unit but connecting it to the power line again.